Cross folder stacker



Dec. 30, 1969 R. L. SJOSTROM CROSS FOLDER STACKER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1968 Dec. 30. 1969 R. L. SJOSTROM CROSS FOLDER STACKER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 15, 1968 R. L. SJOSTROM 3,487,441

CROSS FOLDER STAGKER Dec. 30, 1969 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 15, 1968 United States Patent Ofi ice 3,487,441 Patented Dec. 30, 1969 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A stacker for integral embodiment with a laundry cross folder of the type which effects lateral and cross folds in bed sheets and like articles. The stacker, located at the side of the cross folder immediately adjacent the delivery mechanism, has a pair of symmetrically arranged plates pivotally supported on a frame with means for sequential horizontal and vertical movement of the plates whereby successively delivered folded sheets are bottom up stacked. The plates support a partially formed stack immediately above a delivery table. From this position the plates are moved outwardly allowing the stack to drop onto the latest delivered sheet on the table and thence downwardly and inwardly towards one another and underneath the latest delivered sheet. A pair of guide bars supported on the delivery table extend upwardly through slots in the movable plates to limit lateral movement of the stacks as the plates move outwardly for successive pickups.

Background of the invention Folders with which the stacker of the present invention is used are generally of the type illustrated in application Ser. No. 653,113 filed July 13, 1967. These folders are designed to be positioned at the end of linen and laundry supply ironing equipment to receive bed sheets, pillow cases or like material being ironed after the sheets and pillow cases are passed through a conventional linen or laundry supply ironer and then a sheet folder. The sheet folder ordinarily provides one to three transverse folds as the sheet is moved from the ironer. The cross folder receives the transversely folded sheets successively from the sheet folder and then effects one or more cross folds. The cross folded sheets are delivered to one side of the cross folder, from which side usually they have been stacked by hand. There have been some efforts to provide automatic stacking mechanisms but these stacking mechanisms at the side of these cross folders have not been altogether satisfactory because the folded sheets are stacked unevenly as the stacking mechanisms move the folded material from one stacking position to another.

Summary of the invention The present invention is an improved cross folder stacker which effects uniform piles of folded sheets efficiently. The present invention also provide a simple and inexpensive cross folder stacker which may be adapted for use with wide variety of cross folding equipment.

In the present invention there is provided a pair of opposed plates adapted to support a stack of folded sheets above a delivery table. Means are provided for moving these plates symmetrically and cyclically with respect to a vertical plane intermediate the plates be tween an upper position and a lower position over a path in which the plates move successively in one cycle outwardly, downwardly, toward one another and then upwardly to the initial position. Means are also provided in association with the plates to retain a partially completed stack of folded sheets in vertical orientation as the plates move over their path between the upper and lower positions. Means are also provided for synchronous movements of the plates in response to actuation by a folded sheet moving onto a delivery table.

Brief description of drawings These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a cross folder stacker embodied on a conventional folding mechanism;

FIG. 2 is an end view taken from the left of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the stacker.

Description of preferred embodiment The stacker is secured to the side 1 of the cross folder 2. This delivery end 1 is provided with an opening 3 through which the sheets are successively fed in folded form onto a surface 4 of the table 5. This table 5 is suitably secured to the side 1 of the cross folder by means not shown. Preferably legs 6 may be provided at the free end of the table 5 for suitable support of the table. The sheets are preferably carried at least partially onto the table by a series of endless delivery belts 7 which are journaled or supported at their outer ends by the roller 8', in turn journaled for rotation in a slot in the table 5 with the upper surface of the belts 7 extending above the surface 4 of the table 5. A pair of angle supports 8 and 9 are secured on either side and extend vertically of the opening 3. Opposed channel members 10 and 11 are secured to the parallel legs 12 of the angle members 8 and 9 respectively with these channel members 10 and 11 having inwardly facing parallel longitudinally extending openings adapted to receive rollers 15 (FIG. 3) rotatably supported on a mating channel member 16. The channel members 16 are thus supported for vertical movement with respect to fixed channel members 10 and 11. The opposed channel members 16 which thus function as vertical sliders are secured together by a cross beam 17 at their upper ends above table 5 and at their lower end below table 5 by cross beam 18. Only a small portion of the upper cross beam 17 is illustrated in FIG. 1 since transverse channel members 25 and 27 are supported on its face, as will be described hereafter. Cross beams 17 and 18 may be suitably secured to the upper and lower ends of these slide members 16 by suitable brackets 20 welded to the abutting portions of these members.

Suitably supported on and extending longitudinally of the cross beams 17 and 18 respectively are the transverse channel members 25 and 26. These channel members 25 and 26 have transverse longitudinally extending openings designed to receive and guide pairs of complementary channel members 27 and 28 respectively. These complementary channel members 27 and 28 each comprise elongated mating channel members having rollers adapted to interengage and slide longitudinally of the channel members 25 and 26. The channel members 27 and 28 are arranged in opposed pairs with two members 27 on the member 25 and two members 28 on the member 26. A pair of vertically extending L-beams 30 and 31 are welded by brackets 32 at their upper and lower ends to rigidly interengage the sliders 27 and 28 on the left side of the stacker as viewed in FIG. 1, while vertically extending L-beams 35 are secured by brackets 32 to the right hand members 27 and 28 to rigidly interengage them. The

frame formed by the L-beams 31 and the left hand channel members 27 and 28 are moved laterally by the linkage system generally indicated at 39. This linkage system comprises arms and 41 pivotally interlinked at adjacent ends with the other end of arm 40 pivotally engaging pin 43 which in turn is secured to L-beam 30 intermediate its ends. The other end of arm 41 is pivotally interengaged with the end of shaft 44 of air cylinder 45. Arm 41 is also pivotally supported at 45' on the cross beam 18. The air cylinder 45 is suitably supported on the cross beam 18 by a bracket 48 and a hinge 49. A frame is similarly formed by the right hand elements 27 and 28 and their interengaging L-beam 35. This right hand frame is adapted to be moved laterally by an air cylinder 50. This air cylinder 50 is supported in a manner similar to that of air cylinder 45 on the cross beam 18 and is adapted to actuate the right hand frame comprising elements 27, 28 and 35 through the linkage system generally indicated at 53. This system consists of arms 54, and the shaft 56 of the air cylinder 50. The arm 54 is hinged by a hinge means 50 to the L-beam 35. The other end of arm 54 is pivotally engaged with arm 55. The arm 55 is pivotally interengaged at its other end to the shaft 56 and is also pivotally supported intermediate its ends on the cross member 18 at 60. The two air cylinders 45 and 50 are adapted to be actuated by a common actuation means (not shown) for simultaneously opposed lateral movement inwardly or outwardly as desired. A secondary frame comprising generally the cross beams 17 and 18 parallelly interlinked in a rigid rectangular frame by the channel members 16 are movable in a vertical direction in synchronized relation with the actuation of air cylinders 45 and 50 by the air cylinders 62 and 63. The air cylinders 62 and 63 are pivotally supported at their lower end by hinges 64 in turn secured to the side 1 of the cross folder. The shafts of these air cylinders are pivotally interengaged with the cross beam 18 by hinged brackets 66.

Supports 70 and 71 are similar to each other and therefore description of one is sufficient to describe the other. These supports each comprise a vertical plate member 73 and a horizontal plate member 74 with the vertical and horizontal members pivotally interengaged by a hinge 75. The vertical member 73 may be tapered from the edge closest to the L-beam 31 to the end remote therefrom. The vertical legs of angle brackets 76 are secured to the outer surface of the vertical member 73 with these angle brackets 76 having horizontal legs 77 extending outwardly therefrom and generally parallel to the horizontal member 74. Threaded holes in legs 77 support lock screws 78 which engage lip 74a. Lip 74a is an integral extension of the horizontal member 74 which projects outwardly of vertical member 73 and thus functions to permit minor adjustments of the generally horizontal position of members 74 to assure that it will properly slide under folded articles on the table surface 4.

The horizontal plate member 74 is formed with a slot 80 that extends preferably parallel and symmetrical with respect to its forward and rear edges. Support 70 is rigidly secured to beam 31 by suitable means such as a series of screws extending through holes in plate member 73. Support 71 in turn is secured to beam 35 by suitable means such as screws passing through its plate member 73.

A pair of restraining bars 82 and 83 extend vertically from the upper surface 4 of the table 5. These bars 82 and 83 are rigidly secured to the table by suitable means such as by welding. They extend upwardly in alignment with slots '80 and are positioned apart a sufiicient distance to permit sheets being delivered onto the tables to be positioned between them. These bars 82 and 83 assure an even stack by limiting lateral movement in either direction of folded articles as they are stacked. Without these bars folded articles have a tendency to be dragged laterally by supports 70 and 71 as these supports are moved laterally by the operating mechanism in a manner as hereafter described.

4 v In the operation of this device a folded article such as a sheet is delivered to the table 5 Where it hits a microswitch which in turn controls a solenoid in a conventional circuit (not shown) which controls a valve that sequentially operates the air cylinders previously described. The air cyliders 45 and 50 are first actuated causing the sup ports 70 and 71 to move outwardly from an initial stacking position in which the supports 70 and 71 are directly over the folded article being delivered. As the supports 70 and 71 move outwardly any previously stacked folded articles which would be supported by supports 70 and 71 are dropped vertically down onto the most recently delivered article. Lateral movement of the stack of folded articles is restricted by one or the other of the bars 82 and 83. After the supports 70 and 71 have moved to their outmost positions, air cylinders 62 and 63 are actuated. This causes the frame including channels 27 and 28 to move downwardly until the lower surfaces of horizontal plate members 74 are aligned with the surface 4. By re versing air cylinders 45 and 50 the members 74 are then moved inwardly toward but short of belt 7, with the member 74 moving under the latest delivered"folded article. As previously indicated, slight adjustments of screws 78 will assure proper alignment of members 74. Following this inward movement the air cylinders 62 and '63 are activated in a reverse direction thus causing the supports 70 and 71 to move upwardly raising the entire aligned stack of folded articles including the latest delivered article to a position over and in spaced relation to the surface 4 of table 5. From this position the cycle may be repeated on delivery of the next folded article.

Having now described my invention, I claim: 1. A from the bottom stacker for a cross folding machine in which successively fed folded textile articles are delivered onto a horizontally disposed table surface comprising:

a pair of frames, means slideably supporting said frames on opposing sides of said table at the delivery end thereof for symmetrical reciprocal movement in opposite horizontal directions and in a vertical direction,

means operatively interengaging said frames for movement in horizontal and vertical directions,

a pair of supports each having horizontal members,

means securing said supports one each to said frames,

means forming a slot in each of said horizontal members extending from an edge thereof in the direction of horizontal movement of said horizontal member and at least one guide bar extending upwardly from said table and at least in certain positions of one of said horizontal members through said slot whereby said bar is adapted to be engaged with folded articles supported on said horizontal members, said horizontal members being moved inwardly under the articles and then upwardly to supportingly lift the same, and after subsequent articles are fed in under the raised horizontal members, the members are moved outwardly and lowered so as to deposit the previously elevated articles thereon for subsequent lifting of the stack by the inward movement and subsequent raising of the horizontal members.

2. A stacker as set forth in claim 1 having means adjustably supporting said horizontal members.

3. A stacker as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for slidably supporting said frames comprises a pair of orthogonally related sliders,

means securing said frames to one of said sliders for movement thereon, means mounting said one slider on said other slider for movement thereon, and means fixing said other slider to said folding machine.

4. A stacker as set forth in claim 3 including means for independently moving said frames and said one slider.

5. A stacker as set forth in claim 4 wherein said horizontal members are each pivotally secured at one edge to a vertical member and said vertical members are secured to said frame, means for adjustably securing the angle between said horizontal and vertical members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 3,401,808 9/1968 Kemp 2146 3,420,386 1/1969 Morrow et a1. 2146 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,061,861 3/ 1967 Great Britain.

GERALD M. FORLENZA, Primary Examiner ROBERT J. SPAR, Assistant Examiner 

